Richard Cadell, who bought the rights to Sooty in 2008, has asked the agency to work on activity between now and January.

Agency founder Katie Phillips previously worked on Sooty's PR four years ago, as the yellow bear celebrated its 60th anniversary. Sooty was originally devised by Harry Corbett who bought the puppet as a present for his son from a stall while on holiday in Blackpool in 1948.

Katie and her team will be promoting the DVD of the Sooty Show, set to be released on August 13, as well as the Brean Leisure Park set of the show, which is now open to the public and includes 60 years of show memorabilia.

She said social media would be a key focus of activity, targeting a new generation of Sooty fans.

The Sooty show first appeared on television in 1952 and is the longest running children's programme in the UK.